Agenda item

David Brooks Wilson made a standing declaration in respect of all matters concerning Arcadis, Arups, Keltbray, and Belsize Architects, as an advisor to those companies. He would, therefore, be withdrawing from the meeting during discussion of Items 9 and 13.

The Chairman took the opportunity to outline the particular prospective conflicts involving Mr Brooks Wilson and seek the Committee’s views. Members recognised that there may well be a number of occasions, as with today’s agenda, where conflicts of interest were possible; however, the likelihood that any external appointee with the requisite industry experience would have similar conflicts to manage was also noted.

The Town Clerk confirmed that the interests had been declared and logged on Mr Brooks Wilson’s register of interests and in accordance with the City Corporation’s Code of Conduct. As with all Members, it would be incumbent upon Mr Brooks Wilson to manage any potential conflict in accordance with those rules, with officers assisting where appropriate. Reference was made to specific arrangements in place elsewhere, whereby commercially sensitive information was extracted into separate annexes and not provided to conflicted Members, with transparent protocols employed to ensure the risk of any perceived conflict was mitigated against.

The Chairman sought and obtained the Committee’s consent to discuss the matter with the Comptroller & City Solicitor, the Town Clerk, and Mr Brooks Wilson, to agree appropriate arrangements and a suitable solution.